Evaluation of the relationship between glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and diabetes and other diseases: A retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE

To retrospectively evaluate the relationships between glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and diabetes and other diseases in primary care.

METHODOLOGY: This study was conducted retrospectively using the available recorded data of individuals registered with the Bursa Uludag University Family Health Center, and who underwent HbA1c measurement during the five years between January 2020 to December 2024. 3520 Visits (N) constituted the study population. Simple random sampling was at least 385 patients with a 5% error rate and a 95% confidence level. 537 (n) Patients who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study sample. The study's sample power was determined to be 99% and the effect size was determined to be quite high at 0.49.

RESULTS

Of the 537 individuals who participated in the study, 117 (21.8%) were female and 420 (78.2%) were male. The average age of the individuals was determined to be 39.29±14.63. Based on the main findings of the study, allergic disease (β=4.62), gender (β=4.45), anemia (β=3.92), and non-pregnancy status (β=3.22) were found to be multiple associations. Patients with these characteristics are at an estimated risk of having an HbA1c level above 6.5 (R2=0.51).

CONCLUSION

In our study, the male gender, older age, genetic and chronic diseases, allergies, anemia and diabetes were significantly different across HbA1c groups. Allergic diseases, gender, anemia and pregnancy were found to have associations affecting HbA1c levels. Our results regarding HbA1c levels in family medicine are crucial for diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and referral to other clinics.